There's a wide range of accommodation choices in the Lismore region, including hostels, hotels, motels, B&Bs and caravan parks, most of which can be booked through the Visitor and Heritage Centre. The friendliest place to stay is the VIP/Lismore Backpackers , 14 Ewing St (tel 02/6621 6118, fax 6622 8090; rooms $35-50, dorms under $20), a pleasant hostel which will pick you up from the bus, train station or airport, or from Byron Bay by arrangement; they also organize tours to the surrounding national parks, and take WWOOF volunteers. Note that no smoking or drinking is permitted in the hostel. An alternative is the newly renovated Civic Hotel at 210 Molesworth St (tel 02/6621 2537; rooms $35-50). A couple of kilometres south of town, the Lismore Lake Caravan Park , Bruxner Highway (tel 02/6621 2585; cabins $35-50), has inexpensive campsites, a pool, barbecue, children's playground and small shop.

Lismore isn't a bad place to eat , and has a couple of excellent cafes and cosmopolitan restaurants. The favoured haunt of artists is Caddies Coffee Company , at 20-24 Carrington St, which has excellent bagels, panini , salads and coffee, while retro fans should head for the Mecca Cafe in the mall on Magellan Street, for tasty lunchtime snacks. Vegans and juice freaks will love 20,000 Cows Cafe on Bridge Street, and Dr Juice , a vegetarian healthy heaven, just round the corner on Keen Street. If meatballs are more tempting than mushrooms, there are a number of fine Italian establishments, including Paupiettes on Ballina Street (tel 02/6621 6135) for a la carte dining and Cafe Giardino on Keen Street (tel 02/6622 4664). Thai Lotus at 207 Ballina St (tel 02/6622 0062) is also recommended.

The presence of students means there's some nightlife in Lismore. Most of the pubs feature live bands throughout the week, and the area is developing a bit of a reputation for its local musical talent: Maggie Moore's pub at 29 Molesworth St hosts bands on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and Mary Gilhooley's Irish Pub & Restaurant at the corner of Keen and Woodlark streets is also very popular. There are also a couple of nightclubs: the best music is played at the Powerhouse on Molesworth Street. For other diversions, there's a four-screen cinema in town, on the corner of Keen and Zadoc streets (tel 02/6622 4350).